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Truth Telling Journalist Extraordinaire Helen Thomas Dead at 92
Thomas died Saturday morning at her Washington apartment
Jul 20, 2013
Helen Thomas
White House Press Corps Reporter: 1920 - 2013
"I don't think a tough question is disrespectful. I say. 'Mr. President...' I say, 'Thank you.' What else do you want? The presidential news conference is the only forum in our society where a president can be questioned. If he's not questioned, he can rule by edict; by government order. He can be a monarch. He can be a dictator, and who is to find out? No. He should be questioned and he should always be able to willingly reply and answer to all questions because these aren't our questions. They're the people's questions."
* * *
Long-time White House correspondent Helen Thomas, who covered every president from Eisenhower to Obama, has died at age 92, according to The Gridiron Club & Foundation.
Gridiron Club's Carl Leubsdorf announced in an email: "Former Gridiron Club president Helen Thomas, our first female member, died Saturday morning at her Washington apartment after a long illness. She would have been 93 next month."
Thomas spent 57 years at United Press International before spending her last decade in journalism as a columnist for Heart Newspapers.
As a White House correspondent Thomas covered the press briefings of ten consecutive presidential administrations.
Thomas was forced to retire in 2010 when she was asked for comments on Israel, she replied: "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine."
* * *
Helen Thomas Columns on Common Dreams here.
# # #
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Helen Thomas
White House Press Corps Reporter: 1920 - 2013
"I don't think a tough question is disrespectful. I say. 'Mr. President...' I say, 'Thank you.' What else do you want? The presidential news conference is the only forum in our society where a president can be questioned. If he's not questioned, he can rule by edict; by government order. He can be a monarch. He can be a dictator, and who is to find out? No. He should be questioned and he should always be able to willingly reply and answer to all questions because these aren't our questions. They're the people's questions."
* * *
Long-time White House correspondent Helen Thomas, who covered every president from Eisenhower to Obama, has died at age 92, according to The Gridiron Club & Foundation.
Gridiron Club's Carl Leubsdorf announced in an email: "Former Gridiron Club president Helen Thomas, our first female member, died Saturday morning at her Washington apartment after a long illness. She would have been 93 next month."
Thomas spent 57 years at United Press International before spending her last decade in journalism as a columnist for Heart Newspapers.
As a White House correspondent Thomas covered the press briefings of ten consecutive presidential administrations.
Thomas was forced to retire in 2010 when she was asked for comments on Israel, she replied: "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine."
* * *
Helen Thomas Columns on Common Dreams here.
# # #
Helen Thomas
White House Press Corps Reporter: 1920 - 2013
"I don't think a tough question is disrespectful. I say. 'Mr. President...' I say, 'Thank you.' What else do you want? The presidential news conference is the only forum in our society where a president can be questioned. If he's not questioned, he can rule by edict; by government order. He can be a monarch. He can be a dictator, and who is to find out? No. He should be questioned and he should always be able to willingly reply and answer to all questions because these aren't our questions. They're the people's questions."
* * *
Long-time White House correspondent Helen Thomas, who covered every president from Eisenhower to Obama, has died at age 92, according to The Gridiron Club & Foundation.
Gridiron Club's Carl Leubsdorf announced in an email: "Former Gridiron Club president Helen Thomas, our first female member, died Saturday morning at her Washington apartment after a long illness. She would have been 93 next month."
Thomas spent 57 years at United Press International before spending her last decade in journalism as a columnist for Heart Newspapers.
As a White House correspondent Thomas covered the press briefings of ten consecutive presidential administrations.
Thomas was forced to retire in 2010 when she was asked for comments on Israel, she replied: "Tell them to get the hell out of Palestine."
* * *
Helen Thomas Columns on Common Dreams here.
# # #
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